Dangerous Spark
by simplyrokk
Summary: Set in season 4, when the girls steal their apartment back. What happens when the girls kiss the boys instead? Mondler AU, two-shot! A joint fic by simplymondler and C-Rokkk!
1. Chapter 1

Dangerous Spark

* * *

"That was a great game!" Joey commented as they walked out of the bustling arena, high-fiving the stranger next to him before turning back to his roommate.

Chandler nodded, "hell yeah! I love it when they come back and win!"

The atmosphere surrounding them was supercharged as excited fans enthusiastically discussed their team's triumph. There was a general buzz around them as the celebrations started.

"Taxi!" Joey called, waving his arm until one screamed to a halt in front of them. The roommates climbed into the yellow vehicle, "That was so nice of the girls to bet those tickets."

They turned to face each other and both laughed, "we should bet them more often," Chandler added, "who knows what else we could get out of them." He rubbed his hands together and laughed again.

Joey chuckled too, "True, but I don't think you need to bet anything to get what you want from Monica."

Chandler jolted, surprised by his roommate's comment, "w-what do you mean?" he frowned.

Joey laughed again, "Dude, come on, it's me."

"What?" He swallowed nervously, his denial sounding weak to his own ears, "Seriously, I've no idea what you are talking about."

"Whatever, man," he seemed smug. "But you've been spending so much time with her in the last two months that it's ridiculous."

Chandler shook his head, protesting, "I have not."

"Oh please. I live with you and I hardly see you! You're hanging with her like every night, and I've seen how you look at her, and how she looks at you!"

"You hardly see me because you are out every night," he said sharply, ignoring the last part of his sentence.

"Chandler."

"What?" He said trying not to sound too defensive, but suspecting he was failing big time.

"You're telling me that you don't like Monica?"

"Yes I like her," Chandler deadpanned, refusing to raise to the bait, "of course I like her, she's my friend!"

"I'm your friend, but you don't look at me like that." Well, you're not as beautiful as she is, Chandler thought, biting his bottom lip to stop himself from saying it out loud, "you don't smile or laugh with anybody else like you do when you're around her. She clearly makes you happy."

Chandler's eyes narrowed as he exercised his right to remain silent.

Slowly, Joey sat back in his seat and crossed his arms, with another smug look on his face.

"What?" he eventually asked, a little fearful of what the Italian was about to say. He thought he was good at wearing his 'Monica' mask. Nobody had ever mentioned this before, so why was his roommate so adamant about the whole thing all of a sudden? He just hoped he could convince Joey he was wrong.

"Phoebe has noticed it too, man."

"Noticed what?" he asked frustrated by the whole conversation. "There's nothing to notice."

"It's so obvious that you're into each other."

He shifted uncomfortably, "Look, I'm not interested in her like that." Chandler said quickly, and took a deep breath. He should come up with something to get Joey off of his back. Some sort of excuse that would explain their closeness, "but, I mean, sure I like to hang out with her, and she knows how to make me laugh, which I like, and after the whole Kathy thing she really knew how to cheer me up…" He stopped speaking as his brain caught up with his mouth. Oops. He took in the knowing look Joey was shooting his way, "why are you still looking at me like that?"

"Sounds like more than just friendly behavior to me."

Chandler shook his head again, "no, you're wrong. It's not like that, and I don't appreciate you for judging her, us, like that."

Joey just raised an eyebrow.

"Oh shut up," Chandler grumbled.

Joey put up his hands in defense but he was still smiling, "alright, alright. But from me to you, I really think you should talk to her and see where her head is at. Maybe there's something there for the both of you that you've never noticed before. Never paid attention to."

Chandler gave him a weird look, disconcerted, "since when do you know so much about all of this?"

Joey leaned back a little, "hey, I may not know much, but I know about this stuff, okay?" At Chandler's doubtful look, Joey clapped a hand down on his shoulder, "I'm telling you man, I know what I've seen."

"Oh, please. You haven't seen anything. And I don't think we need to talk about this anymore. It's ridiculous and pointless. So, let's drop it, okay?"

"Okay," he finally said, sighing, hand up in the air in defense and giving up the argument. Chandler let out a sigh of relief, "good." He tried to listen as Joey went into a story about his date the previous day, but Joey's words echoed in his head, it's clear you're into each other.

Was it? Sure, he had definitely started to feel that 'a little more than friends' thing a long time ago.. But had she? Despite what Joey said, he didn't think that Monica felt any sort feelings for him, other than the friendly kind. And that wasn't new. Sometimes, though, he'd catch looks that she'd give him, or her hand would linger on his leg or shoulder or arm and it made him wonder…. But he just chalked it up to his crazy imagination and thought nothing else of it.

He nodded at Joey so his roommate would think he was paying attention to him, but his mind continued to swirl.

Maybe he should try and talk to Monica, find out where she was in all of this. See if those little things were actually something, but then what if she shot him down and felt weird around him? Stayed away from him because he'd made her uncomfortable? Goosebumps appeared all over his body at that thought. He needed her in his life, she was his best friend. Not being around her wasn't an option. Not even a small one.

Great, now there was this gut feeling in him, and it was not from the nachos and questionable hot dogs during the game. It was an unsettled feeling. He never wanted things weird between the two of them, it was his biggest fear. And even if he did want to be with her more than anything else, it wasn't worth losing her over. Nothing was.

A few minutes later, the pair walked into their old apartment, casually, taking them each only a few seconds to realize that it wasn't their old apartment anymore, it was their apartment again. After rushing across the hall and banging on the door, the girls met them there and were trying their best to reason with them.

"I don't want to move again!" Joey whined, his eyes pleading to his roommate.

"I don't care, this is our apartment!" Chandler complained, pissed, "And they stole," he turned back to the closed door, raising his voice, "you stole it," he turned back to his friend, "our apartment, and we won that apartment fair and square, twice! And I am getting it back right now. I'm getting it back right now!"

He was beyond pissed. He loved that apartment and they had no right to steal it back. To trick them into going to the stupid game and taking advantage of them like that. It wasn't fair.

Apartment 19 sucked compared to apartment 20.

The door suddenly opened widely and he glared at them, waiting.

"All right," Rachel started hesitantly, "we figured you might respond this way, so we have a backup offer-"

"Oh no-no-no, no more offers," he protested hotly. They could keep any Knicks tickets, or Rangers sweaters or homemade sandwiches. He wanted his apartment. "You can't offer anything to us!"

"Let us keep the apartment and…"

"As a thank you," Monica took over from her, looking just as nervous. "Rachel and I will kiss you for one minute."

Chandler paused momentarily as he looked at them in suspicion. He hadn't expected that.

"We each get to kiss both of you?" Joey asked, the excitement in his voice evident.

"No," Monica stated, folding her arms across her chest. "You get one kiss from one of us."

"I call Joey!" Rachel shouted quickly before blushing and trying to hide her face, embarrassed.

Chandler glared at her as Joey offered her his usual 'how you doin' look.

"Nope," Chandler, shook his head. "Not worth it."

"Chandler!" Joey whined. He was more than happy with a kiss from Rachel and then settling down for the night in his old already-set-up room.

Chandler shushed him, "we want more."

"Name your price," Monica narrowed her eyes.

"Two minutes."

"Fine," Rachel agreed, rolling her eyes, "but no tongues."

Chandler chewed his lip as he considered their counter-offer. As much as he loved this apartment, he was unlikely to get it back without Joey being on his side. And he could hardly expect Ross to help him side against his sister and Rachel.

At least this way he got something from all this. A chance to see if Joey was onto something. A chance to see if there was any feelings or chemistry between them. His stomach tightened slightly in anticipation. He was going to kiss Monica.

"Fine," he eventually sighed, rolling his eyes as everyone cheered in relief. "How we doing this?"

"I can time you!" Phoebe exclaimed excitedly.

"Sure," Chandler shrugged glancing over at Monica; she looked a little uncomfortable, alternating between hugging herself and tucking her hair behind her ear.

Was the thought of kissing him that unappealing? Obviously she wasn't on the same page as him. Suddenly thoughts of her laughing at him just under a year ago about how he wasn't 'boyfriend material' came back to him. Hmmm. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Was it too late to pull out?

Apartment or not, he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable, in fact, he wanted the very opposite. He wanted to make her happy, make her smile all the time.

Rachel cleared her throat and it snapped Chandler out of his soppy thoughts, "Well, I don't want an audience," she said, pulling down her top and then grabbing Joey's arm, "Come on Joey, let's take the balcony and get this over with."

"Yeah baby!"

Chandler watched as the two disappeared before his eyes fell back to Monica. She was looking everywhere but at him. Great.

"Um," he tried to start, placing a hand on his hip the other coming to his mouth.

"Oh, come on!" Phoebe protested. "I'm tired. It's been hard work watching the girls switch everything around and I'm pregnant here. Just kiss already."

If anything, that made Monica look even more uncomfortable, her arms tightening around herself and Chandler winced. It was teenage 7 minutes in heaven all over again. Was it supposed to be this awkward when you're an adult? He didn't think so.

"Well, we don't want an audience either," Chandler said quickly, deciding once they were alone he would let Monica forfeit the bet. As much as he would love to kiss her and actually get to taste those perfect pink lips of hers, he didn't want to force it. In his recent dreams it had always been a mutual thing, a mutual desire between them.

"Fine," Phoebe shrugged, unbothered, "where are you going?"

Chandler looked around, sighing softly, "Well, um…" there weren't many options besides the bedroom or bathroom. The bathroom really didn't appeal and the bedroom seemed too appealing.

"The hallway," Monica said quickly, as if reading his mind. "Come on, Chandler."

Arms still firmly wrapped around herself she rigidly turned and walked out of the apartment. With a grimace he followed, closing the door behind them. He turned to face her. Yep, he confirmed his silent thoughts, she really didn't look pleased by this idea.

"You know what," he said with what was supposed to be a comforting smile. "Let's just forget about this ok? It's silly."

"What?" she looked surprised and he merely shrugged.

"Really, it's ok," he offered her a boyish smile, holding up one of his hands. "We don't have to do this. I get that it'll be weird, you're my best friend." She smiled a little at that. "But just to warn you," he continued, a teasing gleam entering his blue eyes, "I will be telling Joey there was lots of kissing…and tongue."

He was proud that he made her chuckle and visibly relax a little.

"Well, no," she shook her head, "that's not really fair to you. I made a promise," she swallowed and Chandler shook his head. "I don't like to forfeit on a bet, you know that, and we got the apartment back. It's only fair."

He waved a hand at that, "Mon, it's fine, honestly." His hand came up to gently stroke her arm and their eyes met.

He wasn't quite sure what passed between them or what she was searching for as they locked eyes and she held him in place. Then, just as quickly as it happened, she looked away and Chandler coughed, a little uncomfortable and unnerved, "I'll, uh, I'll see you tomorrow," he managed to get out.

She was still looking at him a little funny and he attempted a smile at her before turning away, his hand on the door handle.

"Chandler?" Her voice sounded a little off.

"Yeah?" he turned back, with a frown, which quickly turned to surprise as he found himself with an armful of Monica as she claimed his lips with hers.

Shocked, his arms instinctively wrapped around her to steady them both as his back hit the door with force. He kissed her back hard, shocked that this was happening; Monica was kissing him, actually kissing him and God it was amazing, better than he'd imagined. He moved his hands up her back and into her hair, gripping her head as his tongue explored her mouth. Her hands were gripping his face, holding it captive as her lips caressed his. It wasn't gentle or a hesitant first kiss. It was passionate, full of want and desire and he could only kiss back.

Feelings that he'd tried so hard to push down came roaring to the surface. Every inch of him desperate to memorize every part of her, every part of this wonderful experience. She felt so incredible as he tightened his grip on her, his hands moving down, her perfume was making him crazy as his lips continued to caress hers. He moaned just a little when her hands slid from his face to his torso to grip his t-shirt. He gripped her hips and pulled her even closer, his fingertips lightly brushing the skin between her jeans and shirt, hearing her moan in response. He tried to slow down the kiss so that he could properly enjoy it. But then another voice ruined his moment. Their moment.

"Hey, you said no tongue!"

They sprang apart at Joey's words, breathing heavily. Chandler's wide eyes took in Joey, Rachel and Phoebe's surprised faces before shooting a hesitant glance at Monica. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair slightly tousled and her lips looked thoroughly kissed. She'd never looked more beautiful.

He licked his lips, goosebumps coming over him as he realized her could still taste her on his lips. What he wouldn't do to take her into his apartment right now, lock the door to keep their nosey friends away and continue whatever the hell that was.

Good gracious, he wanted it again. His whole body ached.

Knowing it wasn't an option, and as the silence stretched out it was only going to make things worse, he cleared his throat a little nervously, "well, uh, she felt really guilty because it was her idea."

"Oh." Joey looked confused and Chandler chose to ignore the looks Rachel and Phoebe were exchanging.

"Right," he said loudly with false cheer, "well, it's certainly been an interesting night. See you all tomorrow." His gaze lingered on Monica and she looked up and met his eyes. Again, a weird connection passed between them and he felt little butterflies in his stomach.

This time it was him who looked away as the other girls bid them goodnight and Chandler quickly retreated into apartment 19. He looked around it as he tried to get his spinning mind calm down and get his head around what had just happened.

"So, just friends, huh?" Joey teased. "Is she a good kisser?" he asked casually as he closed the door and went straight to the fridge.

"Ye-ah, yeah she is," he hoped his desperate attempt to play it down worked, "Rachel?"

"Very good," he nodded taking a bite from the leftover pizza. "I wouldn't say no to doing that again."

"Ross might have an opinion about that," Chandler pointed out lightly as he shrugged out of his jacket.

"Ross is with Emily," Joey pointed out. "I think he'd have more of an opinion on the way you kissed his little sister."

Hmmm, he hadn't thought of that, "touche."

"So, you're really sticking to the 'only friends' thing? Because what I just saw..."

"We are just friends," Joey raised and eyebrow. Chandler lifted a hand to rub his forehead. It was getting late, and he didn't want to argue about this him-and-Monica thing with Joey anymore tonight. "Whatever, I'm gonna turn in. Night Joe."

He barely heard his roommate's mumbled goodnight, too focused on Monica and that kiss.

What the hell was that?

* * *

"What the hell was that?" Rachel asked as she and Phoebe followed Monica back into the newly reclaimed apartment.

"I don't know," Monica admitted a little quietly as she sunk into the couch.

"You were kissing Chandler," Phoebe pointed out. "Really kissing him."

"I know," she shot back, "I was the one kissing him."

"It looked like one hell of a kiss, you had him pressed against the door."

Monica blushed, "look can we stop talking about this now? So, it got a little out of hand, it's no big deal."

"Monica, Joey was a good kisser, hell a great kisser," Rachel corrected as Phoebe nodded in agreement, "but it didn't have that affect on me! So come on, talk. Do you like him or something?"

Monica's cheeks were still flushed as she tucked some hair behind her ear, remaining silent as she ducked her head.

"Monica?" Phoebe asked, suspicion creeping into her voice.

She remained silent, fidgeting slightly wishing the couch would swallow her whole.

"Mon?" Rachel persisted, more determined now. "You and Chandler?"

Monica pressed her lips together now, unsure of what to say. She could feel both pairs of eyes on her, burning a hole through her. She wanted to answer them, she did, but she had no clue right now what to say; no clue what she was thinking. Her mind was reeling.

Phoebe crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, "why are you so quiet?"

Monica finally shrugged a shoulder and lifted her head to look at her curious friends, "because you two are being ridiculous."

Rachel watched as her roommate abruptly stood from the couch, walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water.

"Are we?" Phoebe asked softly, "you're acting very strange right now."

Monica furrowed her eyebrows knowing they were right unwilling to admit it, shaking her head, "no I'm not. Now, if you guys are finished with this nonsense I'm off to bed."

Rachel followed her across the apartment with her eyes, calling her name just before she went into her bedroom. "So, how was he?" she asked, "how did he kiss?"

Monica froze, she blinked once, twice. Just the mention of the kiss between her and Chandler caused goosebumps to form all over her body and she could feel heat rise in her face. If she could only put into words what it felt like to kiss him, but she didn't think there was a good way to explain how her lips still tingled, the way his tongue had danced with hers, the way his hands felt wrapped around her, her body pressed perfectly up against his, all of it. Both of her friends were staring at her again, she knew.

"Uh," she started, clearing her throat and opening her bottle of water so that she could take a sip and buy herself more time to calm down, still unable to believe one kiss had affected her so much, "he was okay."

"Just okay?" Rachel questioned, "you sure were holding him pretty tight for 'just okay'."

"And you had him pressed against the door." Phoebe said, looking over at Rachel and then back at her, "I think if Joey hadn't opened the door when he did we would have found you two in a really compromising position," she wiggled her eyebrows to make her meaning clear.

"Yeah! And you were really holding his t-shirt. Like you were afraid he was going to leave if you let go."

Monica wrapped her arms around herself, "Guys…"

"And did you see the way his hands were on her waist?"

She tucked her hair behind her ear, embarrassed, wishing that they'd just drop it. Listening to their observations continue she really wondered how long the three of them stood there and watched them while they made out. That thought not only embarrassed her but kind of made her mad, if it wasn't for them she knew they would've kept going...but was that a good thing or not?

Damn it, goosebumps again, "Look, it was kind of awkward between us at first," Monica said, trying her hardest to keep her voice from shaking, "so I told him that we would just get it over with. The way you found us was just the way it happened. It was nothing special, it was just a kiss between friends." She shrugged a shoulder to prove her point.

The two people on the couch stared at her for another second, trying to figure out if she was telling the truth. Monica let out a sigh and pointed to her bedroom, "I'm gonna head to bed," she said slowly, "you know, that was a lot of furniture moving. I'm kind of beat."

Phoebe nodded and began to stand, Monica standing quickly first so that she could help her, "yeah me too. All that supervising was exhausting."

Monica chuckled a little, "goodnight."

"Night." Rachel and Phoebe said at the same time as Phoebe walked to the door to get her purse.

"She's totally lying to us," Phoebe whispered the moment Monica's bedroom door was closed,"that kiss was anything but ordinary between them." Rachel nodded, "I know, right! They were enjoying the hell out of it! Something's definitely going on between her and Chandler," she said thoughtfully, "They've been spending a lot of time together since him and Kathy broke up. They seem even closer and couply than they did before."

"Yeah, me and Joey were talking about it just the other day and came to the same conclusion…wait, do you think they're secretly dating?" Phoebe gasped. "That they haven't told us?"

"No," Rachel shook her head, dismissing the idea immediately, "No, I think she'd tell us if it had gone that far...but I think she likes him, a lot. Why hasn't she told us? I mean it's us. We tell each other everything."

A smile slowly stretched across Phoebe's face as an idea formed in her head, "oh, but she will."

"What are you planning?" Rachel asked suspiciously her eyes narrowing.

"Well…"

Phoebe didn't get to continue as Monica chose that precise moment to walk out of her room. Noticing their looks and the sudden silence, she froze and crossed her arms protectively, "what?" she asked hesitantly.

"Oh, hey, Mon," Phoebe greeted with a wicked grin.

"What's going on?" Monica asked, even more hesitant now, taking a few steps towards them.

Phoebe looked at Rachel and subtly winked. Showtime, "Rachel was just telling me about her crush on Chandler."

"What?" Both Rachel and Monica exclaimed equally surprised.

"Go on, Rachel,," Phoebe urged, pushing her towards Monica, "Tell her what you were just telling me about how you can't get Chandler out of your head."

"I -what?" Rachel asked still confused and now a little panicked, not liking this plan at all.

"Go on, Rachel, don't be shy now."

As Rachel glared at her blonde friend, Monica furrowed her eyebrows together as she cautiously looked between the two, "what are you talking about?"

With a final death-glare Rachel took a deep breath and walked over to her and pulled her over to the couch, sitting down next to her. Phoebe came and sat down on the coffee table in front of them.

"You see um," she started, running a hand through her hair as she desperately tried to think of something, "When Kathy and Chandler broke up, I um, started to see a different side to him. And I um…" she stopped and took note of Monica's shocked face, maybe Phoebe was onto something? "I have this huge crush on him."

Monica looked away from her, tightening her arms around herself in disbelief. She never expected to hear that or how hearing that would make her stomach turn circles. She tried to swallow, tried to clear her throat to make her silence seem necessary, "I uh," she coughed a couple of times, "I didn't know you-"

Rachel nodded, getting more into it, "yeah, it's all kind of crazy," she said softly, "he's just so sweet and charming lately,and that thing with his hair and oh those eyes…"

Monica thought she was going to be sick. He was sweet and charming and had soft tousled hair and those eyes...but they weren't for Rachel to stare into. Monica had been so close to Chandler lately, they'd gotten along so well, she had a hard time believing what Rachel was saying to her.

She cleared her throat again and tried to make herself look at her roommate, "Oh, well…" she took in a shaky breath, "why, uh are you telling me this?"

"Well," Rachel shot a worried look to Phoebe who unhelpfully shrugged, "um…" Rachel hating thinking on her feet, "well….you're my friend...and friends tell each other stuff, right?" Monica resisted the urge to roll her eyes as Rachel continued, looking down at the ground and practically shuffling her feet, "but please don't tell him. I'm not ready for him to know."

Monica narrowed her eyes at her just a little, not quite sure whether to believe her or not. It just seemed so out of the blue, and Rachel hadn't been spending any extra time with Chandler, nothing out of the ordinary, and tonight she didn't even volunteer to kiss him.

"Why did you want to kiss Joey if you have this…" she stopped and sighed, "...crush thing on Chandler? Wouldn't you kiss him?" Even saying the words didn't sit well in her stomach. She wasn't a hundred percent certain yet, but she was pretty sure she didn't want anyone kissing him apart from her.

And oh God, did she want it again. Right now.

Rachel pulled a worried face, her eyes wide as she turned to Phoebe again hoping this time she'd think of something.

This time Phoebe jumped in smoothly, the lie rolling off her tongue easily, giving Monica a plausible explanation, "she didn't want to tackle him to the floor and rip off his clothes," she said, chuckling a little as she noticed both Rachel and Monica grimace at the image, "so I told her to grab Joey and that way not have to worry about letting Chandler know her feelings or starting something she didn't want to start. She's not quite ready yet and well, there's Ross to deal with."

There was an awkward silence between the three of them. Monica looked down at the floor, wishing she was anywhere else but in this room right now.

Before tonight she'd never thought about herself and Chandler becoming 'her and Chandler'. Well, she thought, that wasn't the complete truth. She had thought about it, maybe a little. Particularly last year when she teased him about not being boyfriend material. She felt a little bad, realizing later that Chandler really would be a great boyfriend. He was kind, funny, sensitive, a real gentleman, and that damn grin of his paired with those eyes made her knees go weak. And then he'd proved it with Kathy. Now, though, she'd tasted him, felt him and god, she wanted more. The man was a fantastic kisser, and the chemistry between them had been electrifying. She had even considered waiting until Rachel and Phoebe had gone to bed to sneak back over there and see if she could get another kiss.

He had to have enjoyed it just as much as she did, right? If the way his hands tightened around her body were any indication, he certainly did. The way he had pulled her flush against his body. And he moaned. There was no way he wasn't as captivated as she was.

Rachel finally spoke again, bringing Monica out of her lusty thoughts about her best friend, "you kissing him drove me a little crazy," she said, thinking on her feet, "but it's okay. I know you don't have feelings for him, right?"

Monica's body shivered as she tried to come up with something, anything, to say, but couldn't, she only shook her head. Rachel leaned towards her and wrapped her arms around her friend, "thank you for being so understanding about this," Rachel said softly, squeezing her friend.

Monica pressed her lips together when Rachel let her go and continued to the bathroom, her original destination, to brush her teeth. She shut the door and leaned on it, placing a hand over her still flipping stomach and mouth.

What was she supposed to do? There was a friend code between her and Rachel, and even Phoebe, that said if one of them found a guy that they liked, the other's shouldn't try and move in.

Monica guessed that going over there and begging Chandler to kiss her again would be included in breaking the strict code. But how she wanted to kiss him again, see where this could go between them.

She felt another surge of jealousy rip through her. Chandler didn't know how Rachel felt about him, apparently, so maybe he wouldn't feel the same way? Maybe he didn't like Rachel like that anyway and would worry about ruining their friendship and his friendship with Ross?

Who was she kidding? Every freaking guy, single or _not_ single, liked Rachel and wanted to be with her that way.

She let out a breath, finally she stood up straight and faced the mirror. Even if Chandler didn't like Rachel in that way, Rachel still wouldn't like Monica trying to move in on him. She didn't want any bad blood between, especially not over a guy again, but this wasn't any guy. This was Chandler.

Chandler. Sweet, adorable, kinda dorky but totally lovable and amazing Chandler.

After all these years they were now actually on the verge of something. Finally curious and brave enough to explore what a 'them' might be like. Monica and Chandler. Yet now Rachel was in the mix.

She brushed her teeth on auto-pilot, going through the motions as her mind considered all the possibilities. Should she talk to Rachel? Try to discourage her? Or be honest and share her new budding feelings? But it was all happening so fast, shouldn't she have time to process and sort her own feelings out before sharing them with the girls?

With no resolution and her stomach still knotted she finally left the bathroom and bid goodnight to her friends. She decided it was best to sleep on it anyhow before making any rash decisions. Maybe everything would look brighter in the morning.

Maybe.

* * *

tbc...

Would love to hear your thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks so much for all your reviews guys! You know how to make us smile :o)

* * *

Monica startled awake, confused. She took in a breath, she'd finally fell asleep barely an hour ago, and she really didn't want to talk to Rachel about this Chandler thing anymore tonight. She needed sleep. She looked around her darkened bedroom to see what had awoken her. Then she heard another light tapping on her door.

"Come in," she called quietly, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion at who would be at her bedroom door at this hour.

The said door gently opened and there was Chandler standing in her doorway. He was in a crumpled t-shirt and pajama pants, his hair was deliciously tousled and he portrayed a confusing mixture of being vulnerable but gorgeous.

"Hey," he said quietly, still in the doorway. "Is it alright to uh…" he gestured into her room and she nodded.

"Of course," she smiled, a little hesitant as his sock-covered feet padded further into her room, shutting the door behind him.

She swallowed as she watched him walk over and sit on the edge of her bed. Her mind was conjuring up all kinds of lascivious thoughts and she shook her head trying to clear it. Maybe he was here to talk to her, to tell her earlier had been a mistake?

"What are you doing here?" she asked softly, glancing at the illuminated clock on her nightstand. As she'd guessed, it was late.

"Um," his fingers started to idly pick at a thread on her bed cover. "I was kinda having a little trouble, uh, sleeping."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, see I couldn't, uh," he cleared his throat before raising his head, his blue eyes seemed darker, more intense given the hour as they locked with hers, "I couldn't get you off my mind. That kiss...I…" he sighed, shaking his head and looking away again.

At first excitement and joy washed through her; he did enjoy the kiss as much as she had. If only she could lean over now and press her lips to his, hopefully get to experience that magic again. But then she thought of Rachel and she felt like someone had thrown a bucket of ice water over her. She couldn't do that to her.

"Oh," she said again, less enthusiastic, and Chandler lifted his head slightly, sensing her tone.

He noticed her hesitation and cleared his throat again. So she didn't feel the same way about him, she didn't enjoy the hell out of the kiss like he did. He swallowed and ran a hand through his hair, hoping that his heartbreak couldn't be heard in his voice. "I can tell that doesn't exactly thrill you, so, I uh, I'll be leaving now," he stood up, her eyes following him.

"Chandler, wait…" She stood up too, reaching for him, but he moved away from her again.

"Uh, can we just forget I showed up here in the middle of the night like an idiot?" He held open his arms and then pointed to himself, "We can just say I sleep-walked or better yet, maybe we can say it was just a dream. That I didn't just make a fool out of myself? And maybe we can keep it just between us, okay? The others don't have to know, really."

"No that's not it…" she reached for his hand again, but he moved it away from her grasp.

"I'm gonna go," he said quickly, turning to leave her room, "I'm sorry...I hope we can still be friends, after this very awkward...thing."

"Chandler," her tone was a little more firm as she finally grabbed his hand, stopping him. Electricity crackled between them as their skin touched but his words stayed with her. The thought of them not being friends anymore, not seeing him every day made her heart race. She squeezed his hand, reassuring herself that he wouldn't leave her. His hand was warm and little goosebumps pricked her skin. "You've got it wrong, very wrong."

She looked down, worrying her lip as she tried to think how to word it without revealing Rachel's secret.

"Yeah?" He asked, dying to know what was causing her hesitation. He watched as she looked down at the floor, "hey, what is it?" he asked softly, but she remained silent. He could tell something major was on her mind. "Mon?" he questioned, his hand coming up to lift her chin, raising it to meet his confused eyes. "Talk to me, what do you mean?"

It was hard to concentrate with him this close. He was in her bedroom, in her personal space, and although she knew she shouldn't, she couldn't help but give into the temptation and lean forward and close the gap. The kiss was brief at first, only lasting a second or two, but when she leaned in to kiss him harder, he backed away from her. She swallowed, worried about what he was about to say. Was he backing out? Did he realize that they were just on a high and decided this was a bad idea?

Placing his hands on her shoulders, he turned them around so that her back was against her door. She furrowed her eyebrows at him, not sure what he was doing, then the corner of his mouth pulled upwards, "Not so fast," he mumbled. He gently cupped her face and made her look right into his eyes as he leaned towards her, kissing her cheek gently on the way to her ear. "I want to take my time," he whispered, causing a soft whimper to come out of her.

He stared into her eyes for a few long seconds, giving her a chance to tell him what the hesitation was, or to back out of whatever was about to happen completely. Instead her hands gripped him harder, and she made no effort to move away.

He swallowed, here goes nothing. And everything...

His hands finally moved from her face and ran down her body, stopping at her hips, his fingers gripping them tightly. She wrapped her arms around his neck, staring into his eyes, the small amount of moonlight in the room allowing her to notice a look on his face she'd never seen before.

Desire.

She could still smell his aftershave and cologne, making her shiver in anticipation.

"Chandler," she whispered, trying to make sure that this was real, that she wasn't dreaming. He was really pressing her against the door, touching her body, looking at her like this. She took in a breath as he finally leaned closer to press his lips to hers. The warmth of his mouth lit her up like a candle, slowly spreading through her body. She was sure he could hear her rapid heart rate as loud as she could. She parted her lips as her hands moved up into his hair, using her nails to lightly scrape his scalp.

He finally deepened the kiss, and she moaned when one of his hands undid the hair tie in her hair, letting it fall all around her face and his fingers. His lips were so soft, and in order to make sure he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, she tightened her grip on his back.

Her head was swimming, all five of her senses filled with nothing but Chandler. God, this was amazing.

He finally pulled back, his breathing hard and shallow as he tried to recover. She pressed her lips together, already missing his body close to hers, the peppermint taste of his mouth, and the way his hands moved along her body. She gripped his forearms with the hope that he wouldn't move away from her.

He let a small smile cross his face, "yeah, that's exactly what I needed." She smiled back at him, biting her bottom lip. He reached up and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear, "better than the first?"

She looked down at her hand, trying to figure out how to answer him.

Her heart was screaming an answer of yes, it was much better than the first. Not because their first kiss wasn't amazing, because it was, but because their second kiss was much longer, she'd gotten to experience and hold him longer. But another part of her was still telling her she needed to stop this. Warning sirens blaring that this was Chandler. Her friend. Plus there was the whole Rachel thing…

"What, I rendered you speechless?" he teased, his fingertips dancing across her cheek.

"No...I…." she looked up and got lost in his eyes. As if caught in a spell, she watched as he slowly leaned forwards and captured her lips again and again. Thoughts of consequences and betrayal soon left her mind as passion started to consume her.

She could feel his hands on her body, edging under her top, grazing the bare skin and she couldn't suppress the shudder that went through her. He was slowly walking them towards the bed. Her own hands were desperately exploring him too, finding the bottom of his t-shirt, tugging impatiently.

They separated the kiss long enough to remove his shirt and she ran her hands over the newly exposed skin. Needing to feel him, make him feel what she was.

"God, Mon," he panted in her ear, causing her to shiver. "What are we doing?"

He crashed his lips down to hers, getting overwhelmed by the sensations coursing through his body. Every nerve ending was on fire, ultra-sensitive to her touch. To her being.

The back of her knees hit the bed, and she grabbed his shoulders, pulling him down with her as she sat down. Their kiss broke again, briefly, while Chandler lifted her shirt and threw it somewhere behind him.

As she lay back on the bed, Chandler straddled her lap and ran his hands down her sides. She let out an audible moan and arched her back off of the bed as his fingers ran lightly over her skin.

"God," he said breathlessly, "you are so damn beautiful."

She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down to her again, kissing him deeply and wrapping her arms around his neck. "Chandler," needing to hear his name out loud, needing to make sure this was really happening and not a dream. He kissed that place on her neck, making her gasp and grab at him more. He sat up again, and as his hands moved around her back, gripping her shoulders. He looked right into her eyes, both of them breathing heavy. His mind suddenly went into overdrive. This was what he wanted, there was not a single doubt in his mind. But now he worried if she was only in the moment, if this was she wanted at all. He sat up all the way and ran his hands down her arms, intertwining his fingers with hers to get her attention. "Mon," he took in a shaky breath, "are you sure you want to do this?"

She closed her eyes and tried to slow down down her racing pulse for a second, but it didn't work. She was so anxious and ready to move things along. This all felt so good, so right.

She sat up in front of him and kissed him again, holding his head in place while she explored his mouth. When she pulled back again, she ran her hands down his body, looking down for a second and then meeting his eyes. "Take off your pants," she commanded softly.

It was all the confirmation he needed, so he grunted as he pushed her back again, chasing her as her back hit the comforter.

* * *

Chandler fell down beside her on the bed, both him and Monica trying to catch their long forgotten breath. Monica reached for her glass of water on her bedside table, taking a long, satisfying sip of it and then offering it over to Chandler, "water?"

He moved his head over to look at her, "yeah, thank you."

She smirked at him, turning over to her side to watch as he sat up to drink, "you're welcome."

He finished drinking and smiled at her, leaning over to put it on the table and not missing the opportunity to kiss her. He cupped her face, pushing some hair out of the way of his fingers, "so, just so you know, I didn't come over here to do that. Not that I'm complaining."

"I know," she promised, her skin ultra-sensitive to his touch. She pressed another sweet kiss to his lips, letting it linger,"but I'm glad you did come over."

Chandler smiled like his favorite team had just made it to the super bowl, "really?"

"Yeah, really, " Monica confirmed.

"I'm glad that you're glad," he said. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her lazily until they both heard the bathroom door close, "sounds like Rachel's up," he said casually.

Oh crap. Rachel.

Monica pulled the sheet further up her body, rolling on her back and pressing her lips together and squeezing her eyes shut. She tried to ignore the horrible feelings of guilt that washed over her.

Chandler furrowed his eyebrows together, and ran his hand down one of her arms, "hey, you okay?" Monica didn't answer him, she covered her eyes with her free arm, "what's wrong?" She didn't answer him verbally, finally shook her head, swallowing hard. Chandler began to panic, "oh, God, Mon I'm sorry if this wasn't what you wanted. I hope I didn't…"

She immediately moved her arm from her eyes and grabbed his arm, stopping him from backing up from her, "no, Chandler, that's not it at all. I already told you that I wanted this, I promise."

"Then what's bothering you?" He replied, "you look like you've seen a ghost."

"I, uh, just remembered something that I need to talk to Rachel about," she admitted quietly.

"Okkkk," he was still confused. "Something not good I'm guessing?"

"No, it's just...complicated," she muttered with a wince. "But I'll sort it, you, in the meantime, you need to get out of here before she gets out the bathroom."

"Trying to get rid of me?" he asked lightly, his eyes focussing on the bed cover. She smiled and cupped his face, kissing his lips softly, to reassure him and to savour the feeling one last time before she had to face reality, "well, you know, I've always been the 'hit it and quit it' kind of girl," she tried to joke.

He chuckled softly, leaning down and kissing her again, harder and she let him. He ran his hand down her side and took note of the goosebumps that suddenly formed all over her, "that's too bad, because I was kinda hoping for more than a one night...thing."

She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face and the warm, cherished feeling that ran through her, despite the dilemma with Rachel.

"Me too," she eventually said softly.

"Good," he murmured, leaning over for another kiss, and another. "So I'll see you in a bit?"

She nodded, wishing it was more simple. With a last peck on her lips, he begrudgingly stepped back with a sigh, he really didn't want to leave.

"Go!" she chuckled, the smile still not leaving her face despite the whole situation. He was so cute and he wanted to be with her. Damn Rachel.

"Ok, ok, spoilsport," he walked over to the bedroom door, turning to take her in again. How did he get so lucky? "Bye, Mon."

"Bye," she grinned as she watched him leave.

Her grin disappeared a moment later when her bedroom door reopened to reveal a shocked Rachel, "Wh-?"

She seemed speechless as she spotted a disheveled Monica clutching at the bed covers. Monica grimaced, looking away, guiltily.

"You...you actually...and Chandler?"

"Rachel…" Monica started, unable to look at her in the eye, "look, I just…" She sighed and gripped the sheets tighter, wishing she had her robe. Maybe then she wouldn't feel so vulnerable in her naked state.

"So you don't like him like that, huh?"

"Well I…"

"I can't believe you would do that to me. What about our pact? I guess it doesn't mean anything anymore." She turned on her heel and walked back into the living room.

Monica sighed and quickly stood from the bed, adding underwear and a robe to her body, tying the sash as she walked into the living room, looking around to find it empty.

"Rachel?" Monica called, walking across to her room and knocking on the door, "Rachel, please let me in."

"You know, Mon, I really don't…" Rachel started, but then stopped, remembering that she made the whole thing up just to get the truth out of her friend and actually had no reason to be mad. She'd wanted Monica to confess her feelings….

"I'm sorry! I need to explain," Monica said through the door, "I really need to explain what happened."

Rachel sighed and moved to the door, opening it slowly. Monica walked further into the room behind her, crossing her arms over her stomach nervously, "I'm sorry, Rach. I didn't…"

Rachel put her hand up to stop her, "It's okay."

"No, see I- what?" Monica paused abruptly, confused, shaking her head, "it's not okay. You told me you liked him and I did too but I shouldn't have…"

"Monica, it's really okay." She said again but Monica wasn't listening.

"Not until I talked to you, I mean, who does that? You would never do that and…" Monica began to pace back and forth, her hands on her forehead, "I can't believe this happened. I mean, why would I do that? I knew how you felt but I did it anyway and, god, Rachel, I couldn't help myself. He was just so...and I was just…"

Rachel stood from her bed and put her hands on Monica's, "honey, you gotta calm down. It's fine."

She frowned, "you're not upset?"

Rachel shook her head, smiling, "No, I'm a little shocked that it happened, but I'm not upset."

"But you said you had a crush on him and then I…" Monica took a step back from her, dropping her hands. She was so confused about Rachel's calmness about the whole situation. "Rachel, why aren't you upset?"

Her friend pulled a face, "well, see, me and Pheebs were talking and we could tell something was going on and wanted you to admit that you had a thing for him...and then we kind of made it up."

Monica's face fell as she tried to work out what her roommate had just said to her, "wait, you did what?"

Rachel screwed her face up, "look it wasn't my idea…"

"You both lied to me?"

"Yeah, no, well... but Mon…"

"I can't believe you did that! Why? What were you going to accomplish?" Monica shook her head in disbelief and walked into the living room.

Rachel followed, "oh come on, no harm right? I mean, now you can go and be with him all you want without having to worry about anything."

"But that's not the point, Rachel. You made me feel like crap. I hated that! I felt so bad about wanting Chandler knowing you had feelings for him too and was so confused by everything and..." Rachel furrowed her eyebrows together at the confusion on her friends face. "Mon?"

"So, let me get this straight," she held Rachel's hand, patting the top of it gently, "you and Phoebe wanted to know about my feelings for Chandler that bad that you made up this whole story? Just to get me to admit it?"

Rachel nodded a little, "Yes, I'm sorry...but maybe we helped, you know, forced you to think about it?"

"Maybe," Monica shrugged not fully convinced by her argument, but then smiled, a wave of relief washing over her as it suddenly dawned on her. Now she could have Mr. Bing all to herself.

Rachel took note of the wide smile on Monica's face, "so you and Chandler huh? That's so amazing!" Rachel smiled, unable to contain her excitement. "Did you sleep together? Was he good? Was he sweet? Are you a couple? Are-"

"It was amazing," Monica said, and couldn't help but smile at the memory, "he came over a couple of hours ago and it started out innocent, you know, just another kiss or two. But then one thing led to another, and I couldn't stop. I didn't want to stop. He was so kind and romantic, Rachel, I swear, I never had anything like that before."

"You had the moment!" Rachel exclaimed, grabbing Monica's arms and shaking her a little, "so are you dating? This is huge. Wait until the others find out!"

"Well, I think we're going to date," she smiled, "I think he was thinking about dating, but it is Chandler, and I was a little too preoccupied thinking about how I'd screwed you over to think about everything straight."

Rachel's face fell, but then she took notice of the teasing look on Monica's face and relaxed a little, "I think you should go over there. Now that you know everything's okay here."

Monica glanced at her front door, "No, I don't think so. He's got to be at work in a couple of hours and…"

"Oh, that's plenty of time," Rachel said in her lower, sexy voice.

"Rachel!" Monica replied, surprised.

"What? You would hate to go to work with all of that unresolved sexual tension. You might make some questionable looking cookies for the dessert menu tonight."'

Monica laughed and Rachel sighed, pulling her friend to her for a hug, "I'm happy for you two, really. I'm sorry Phoebe and I made it little difficult for you."

Monica pulled back and chuckled deviously, "oh, payback is coming my friend. Just you wait."

Rachel smiled bigger and hugged her again, "fine. Now go. Go over there and you know...talk and do some other stuff."

Monica smiled excitedly at her one more time and stood to her full height. "Alright, here goes."

"Have fun," Rachel watched as she made her way out of their apartment, crossing the hall to apartment 19.

She entered slowly, quietly, crossing the living room and tapping lightly on the top half of Chandler's door. Her heart began to beat rapidly again when the doorknob in front of her turned and the door opened.

He smiled first and she smiled back, "well, hello, pretty lady."

She bit her bottom lip, "hello yourself."

He grabbed her hand, pulling on her a little, "come on in."

"Are you sure?" She watched as he closed the door again behind her, then stepped right into her personal space, " because I know you've got work soon and I don't…"

His index finger on her lips cut her off, "all I have to do is tell Gina that I'm on a conference call and take about a two hour nap, and I'm good as new." Her smile grew beneath his finger. He moved his hand away and leaned down to place a quick kiss on her lips, "what are you doing over here? I thought you had a Rachel thing."

She chuckled softly, "Oh, I'll have to tell you about the whole Rachel thing. And Phoebe thing. You will get a kick out of it."

He lifted his eyebrows, "really?"

"Oh yeah."

"So, tell me what happened."

Monica lifted her eyebrows and placed her hands on his shoulders, lifting herself up to kiss him gently on the lips, then on the cheek, and then just below his ear before whispering in it, "you want me to tell you now?" She moved back to kiss him on the lips again, "or later?"

He grunted and picked her up, placing her on the bed and crawling over to her, "definitely later."

Monica panted heavily as she snuggled next to him, his arms going around her, the room silent as they tried to calm down and return to normal. Chandler pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, "this is so weird."

She swallowed the lump in her throat, worried now about what he was about to say, "what's weird?" she asked horsely. She felt his finger under her chin, pulling her eyes up to his.

"It's weird how not weird this is."

She smiled back at him, her body relaxing at his words, his gentle touch. "I think it's because we know each other so well," she told him softly, then leaned up to kiss his lips, "and we know each other even better now. I am glad this is happening."

He grinned at her, "me too." They shared another soft kiss, and then another, "I kind of wanted to happen for a while now, I've realized."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you might say I've had a crush on you lately."

"A crush?"

"Yeah," he swallowed, threading his fingers through hers.

"So, how big?

He grinned at her deviously, "I think you _know_ how big."

She used her free hand to hit him on the chest, "You know what I meant."

He chuckled and leaned up to kiss her, "really, really big."

"Really?"

"Yeah," he admitted softly, "is that okay?" She nodded, beaming at him, "you know," he commented, tightening his arms around her, "I was thinking, you remember a couple of months ago when you were in the living room and I came over, lets say, a little less than sober?"

She giggled a little again, "yes, I remember. I'm surprised that you remember."

He chuckled, "well, I don't remember much. But I remember that I kissed you, and I think that's when my feelings started to turn about you."

Her eyebrows lifted in surprise, "you kissed me?"

His lifted too, "Didn't I?"

She shook her head, pressing her lips together for a second, "no…"

"I didn't? Really?" His voice squeaked a little, "God, that seemed so real. You're telling me it was my imagination?"

She nodded her head,wishing it had actually happened. "We talked for a while, mostly about Kathy, and then you kind of...passed out. So, I put a pillow under your head and a blanket over you and went to bed."

He was quiet for a long time, Monica's hand dragging lazily over his skin, "are you sure we didn't kiss?"

Monica laughed, "well I'm pretty sure I kissed your forehead. Does that count?" her eyes softened at his crestfallen look, "sorry, but, I'm sure. I wasn't drunk."

"I could taste you," Chandler said, looking away from her eyes for a second, "I could feel your lips."

"It must've been a dream."

He smiled and kissed her, "well, it was a good one," his grip tightened on her a little as he kissed her deeply this time, not pulling back until the lack of air became an issue. He pulled back and cupped her face again, "seriously, Mon. This," he gestured between them, "this is what I wanted."

She leaned up and kissed his cheek, "why didn't you tell me sooner?"

He chuckled dryly, "I was afraid you'd shoot me down and then it would be _beyond_ awkward between us."

"It won't ever be awkward between us," Monica promised, "we're too close for that." He nodded, his eyes closing for a second at the sensation of relief her words gave him. "And," she continued, "for the record, I want this too. This is going to work."

Chandler grinned, "God, what a dream come true."


End file.
